Fox - Big East exclusive negotiating window

[John]

I haven’t bothered to put in any research. How did the MWC manage to get 6 bids anyway?

One thing is the conference has two Georgetowns instead of a Georgetown and a DePaul.

 

[cellocgg]

Yeah hard to argue that. Still think a brand like UConn would need to be snatched up. I was shocked to see so many anti-Big 12 voices last summer. Let’s hope that wasn’t the last ship.

We were going to be in the B12 as the Iowa State AD confirmed. Seems like next time they expand (could even be this summer) we will make it.

I see lots of B12 fans wanting us to join, especially on reddit

 

[Ha Who]

Charlie bWe were going to be in the B12 as the Iowa State AD confirmed. Seems like next time they expand (could even be this summer) we will make it.

I see lots of B12 fans wanting us to join, especially on reddit

 

[superjohn]

I haven’t bothered to put in any research. How did the MWC manage to get 6 bids anyway?

I don't know but it ruins the conspiracy of why the Big East got screwed.

It was an entertaining league but I'm not all that impressed with what some of those teams did out of conference.

 

[Hoophound]

I don't know but it ruins the conspiracy of why the Big East got screwed.

It was an entertaining league but I'm not all that impressed with what some of those teams did out of conference.

Does it though? Maybe, the football people sticking it to the non-football people.

 

[cellocgg]

Given the success and attention we have garnered this season, it doesn't seem farfetched

 

[John]

I don't know but it ruins the conspiracy of why the Big East got screwed.

It was an entertaining league but I'm not all that impressed with what some of those teams did out of conference.

You mean Big East here? Or MW?

 

[superjohn]

You mean Big East here? Or MW?

Mountain West. For some reason their non conference and FAU's non conference didn't matter and the Big East's did.

 

[superjohn]

Does it though? Maybe, the football people sticking it to the non-football people.

Yes it does, nobody gives a rats arse about Mountain West football or FAU football.

 

[LoyalFanCT]

ACC will be offering us a spot soon

 

[Ha Who]

Given the success and attention we have garnered this season, it doesn't seem farfetched

Winning the most championships over the past quarter century sure helped

 

[Hoophound]

Yes it does, nobody gives a rats arse about Mountain West football or FAU football.

Yes. But is the Big East somehow a thorn in the side of the football conferences? I don’t know. Just weird that the second best conference in the country got 3 bids and it happens to be the one that doesn’t play football.

 

[cellocgg]

Winning the most championships over the past quarter century sure helped

That is true but it's because Football is our Achilles heel. Basketball is becoming more and more important in college athletics, it's harder to ignore now

 

[superjohn]

Yes. But is the Big East somehow a thorn in the side of the football conferences? I don’t know. Just weird that the second best conference in the country got 3 bids and it happens to be the one that doesn’t play football.

It is weird but I think it's just a one year fluke of getting screwed. If there was a pattern year over year with this I would call it out.

I think it's ridiculous our commissioner hasn't said anything about it.

 

[kibblesnbits]

Seems like once they are done with football they will get around to tinkering with the BB tournament. Perhaps what we will see is a field of 96 with 32 playing teams playing 16 games on Tuesday. Four more games in each bracket (another full day of TV and ticket sales).

I think the conference winners/auto bids should win the right for an auto bye on the play in game. Not sure that can always lead to "fair" seeding however. And yes, most of these 32 expanded seats will be going to power conferences by default. Maybe the little guys will be able to successfully argue that the expanded seats should have a min win % to help cut down on the nonsense of a 17-14 middling SEC school winning out over a 5 loss second place A10 school.

I used to be highly dismissive of an expanded tournament, now after what they did with football, it just seems like a no brainer.

The brain teaser here might be how to structure the seeds. Off the cuff, maybe the play in games should always be for the 8, 9, 10 and 11 seeds.

You math doesn't work. If they expanded the field to 96 with 32 teams playing on Wednesday (16 games) that would leave 80 teams going into the weekend, which is not a workable number. If they want to expand the tournament without adding another week the practical limit would be 80 teams (after 32 play 16 games on Tuesday you'd be down to 64 for two weekends of play). Of course, if they added another weekend they could have as many as 256 teams in the field and everyone can take home a participation trophy.

 

[Patman]

You math doesn't work. If they expanded the field to 96 with 32 teams playing on Wednesday (16 games) that would leave 80 teams going into the weekend, which is not a workable number. If they want to expand the tournament without adding another week the practical limit would be 80 teams (after 32 play 16 games on Tuesday you'd be down to 64 for two weekends of play). Of course, if they added another weekend they could have as many as 256 teams in the field and everyone can take home a participation trophy.

they could add another weekend and do the first 48... 13 and below... 17-24 seeds play one game then play into the 13-16 seeds. all of this is silly of course, but remember they're setting this up for TV not public participation (in venue participants).

 

[Exit 4]

You math doesn't work. If they expanded the field to 96 with 32 teams playing on Wednesday (16 games) that would leave 80 teams going into the weekend, which is not a workable number. If they want to expand the tournament without adding another week the practical limit would be 80 teams (after 32 play 16 games on Tuesday you'd be down to 64 for two weekends of play). Of course, if they added another weekend they could have as many as 256 teams in the field and everyone can take home a participation trophy.

Okay correction- you could go to a field of 80 teams, 16 of which are 'play in' games instead of the current model of 68 teams with four 'play in' games.

The 'play in' model is simply expanded so that there is one more full day of TV and arena sales. It would be "play in" Wednesdays; two morning and two evening games per region. This also minimizes the impact on the calendar.

I would prefer Conf Champs and the top 5 or 6 seeds per region are exempted from play in games.

 

[ZooCougar]

Don’t expand. Fix the selection criteria. The committee is making things up as they go along. Nothing seems calibrated or aligned.

 

[dayooper]

That is true but it's because Football is our Achilles heel. Basketball is becoming more and more important in college athletics, it's harder to ignore now

Are you talking about UConn in particular or college sports in general. I completely agree with your statement if it’s about UConn. You all are the most important team in the country and as long as you keep winning, it will stay that way.

If you are talking about the college sporting world? I’m not so sure. The media contracts are given to the football conferences, not basketball. The NCAA tournament is huge, make no mistake, but the regular season doesn’t get the viewership that football does. In some ways, it’s becoming less important media wise.

 

[businesslawyer]

There is a sizable component of UConn football fans that want the annihilation of UConn’s athletic program because it joined the Big East.

As someone who goes to all the football games, there isn’t even a sizable amount of UConn football fans. Unless, by sizable, you mean six or seven.

 

[John]

As someone who goes to all the football games, there isn’t even a sizable amount of UConn football fans. Unless, by sizable, you mean six or seven.

more than 30,000 season tickets sold in 2005. Wish we could get back to that.

 

[cellocgg]

Are you talking about UConn in particular or college sports in general. I completely agree with your statement if it’s about UConn. You all are the most important team in the country and as long as you keep winning, it will stay that way.

If you are talking about the college sporting world? I’m not so sure. The media contracts are given to the football conferences, not basketball. The NCAA tournament is huge, make no mistake, but the regular season doesn’t get the viewership that football does. In some ways, it’s becoming less important media wise.

Basketball will ensure the survival of the ACC and B12. They can not compete with Football once all the large Football brands are out, so they will push for Basketball. Brett Yormark has already started this, hence why UConn was slated to join the B12 this past summer until the geographically relevant four corner schools all joined at once.

Given our historical and current Basketball success and the attention that comes with, we are what they are looking for: a juggernaut that's not even tied down to a conference. We are more desired than OSU, Wazzu, and Calford even though nobody here can fathom that UConn actually has a shot at joining a power conference. We are the fourth highest school in basketball revenue right now

This doesn't even take into account the fact that WBB has blown up and is more popular than ever

 

[dayooper]

Basketball will ensure the survival of the ACC and B12. They can not compete with Football once all the large Football brands are out, so they will push for Basketball. Brett Yormark has already started this, hence why UConn was slated to join the B12 this past summer until the geographically relevant four corner schools all joined at once.

Given our historical and current Basketball success and the attention that comes with, we are what they are looking for: a juggernaut that's not even tied down to a conference. We are more desired than OSU, Wazzu, and Calford even though nobody here can fathom that UConn actually has a shot at joining a power conference. We are the fourth highest school in basketball revenue right now

This doesn't even take into account the fact that WBB has blown up and is more popular than ever

But how does this show basketball being more important? If the football powers of the ACC all leave for greener pastures (and basketball powers if UNC leaves), wouldn’t that show that basketball is less important? Didn’t the football powers of the Big12 leave?

As far as UConn joining a power conference, I have long been a proponent of you all to the Big10. It would be a shot to the arm for Big10 basketball and I’m not really a college basketball fan, more of a fair weather type.

 

[cellocgg]

But how does this show basketball being more important? If the football powers of the ACC all leave for greener pastures (and basketball powers if UNC leaves), wouldn’t that show that basketball is less important? Didn’t the football powers of the Big12 leave?

As far as UConn joining a power conference, I have long been a proponent of you all to the Big10. It would be a shot to the arm for Big10 basketball and I’m not really a college basketball fan, more of a fair weather type.

I should've phrased it differently. Basketball isn't suddenly more important but it is more important to the select conferences that will suffer from Football; the same ones UConn has been wanting to join

Also UConn to the B1G would be the dream. I would happily give up Football to join as an all-sports member even with heavily reduced media shares (after all if we didn't have to carry Football we wouldn't need near as much and we would get enough to keep our programs nationally relevant)

 

[superjohn]

Basketball will ensure the survival of the ACC and B12. They can not compete with Football once all the large Football brands are out, so they will push for Basketball. Brett Yormark has already started this, hence why UConn was slated to join the B12 this past summer until the geographically relevant four corner schools all joined at once.

Given our historical and current Basketball success and the attention that comes with, we are what they are looking for: a juggernaut that's not even tied down to a conference. We are more desired than OSU, Wazzu, and Calford even though nobody here can fathom that UConn actually has a shot at joining a power conference. We are the fourth highest school in basketball revenue right now

This doesn't even take into account the fact that WBB has blown up and is more popular than ever

Has women's basketball really blown up or is it that Caitlin Clark has blown up?